The Bike is to Blame
by Cristipotter
Summary: It starts with a fishing trip gone peculiarly wrong for a young girl. And then it's just the little moments that make two people realize that deep down, they thank the stupid bike. Collection of short-ish, pokéshippy one-shots.
1. Chapter 1: 2 am

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.**

**X  
**

**2 a.m.**

It started with a high, buzzing sound against the hard wood of the bedside table. She buried her face deep into the pillow, deciding to ignore the noise that had pulled her out of her slumber. But apparently it wasn't enough for the device to just vibrate, because soon enough a ringing sound started piercing through the dark bedroom, making her groan and finally pull herself up to answer the godforsaken thing that was her cell phone.

She flipped the thing open, not even able to open an eye and see who was interrupting her goodnight sleep, and muttered a hoarse, "hello?"

"Misty!"

At the sound of that voice, cheerful and husky and maybe lower than she remembered it, she let her head drop back down to the pillow without a second of thought.

"Do you have _any_ idea what time it is, Ash?" she said, not even knowing the answer herself, but sure it was probably something ungodly.

"Ten? Ten fifteen?" he said innocently, as only he could. She freed one of her eyes from between the pillows and opened it just for a fraction, getting a glimpse of the digital clock by her bedside with the bright, red numbers that said anything but 10:00 p.m.

"It's two in the morning!" she moaned into the device in her ear, shifting to the side and rubbing her eyes single-handedly to no avail; they still refused to open for more than half a second. "Time difference, Ash. We've been through this."

"I'm sorry!" he apologized, and her head was still too fuzzy to know if he meant it.

"Yeah, sure," she said, her attempts at trying to open her eyes forgotten.

"Hey, I mean it. I just forget you're so far away sometimes, alright?"

"Well, remember it then," she said, her voice trailing off into a yawn. "Why are you calling anyway?"

"Well…" he started, and took a pause long enough to irritate her.

"Well?"

"I'm not really across the globe anymore, actually," the words from the other end of the line made her frown, and she didn't know if she was even processing them correctly anymore.

"What?"

"It's two in the morning, I'm standing outside Cerulean City's Gym, and I'm literally turning into a popsicle." For the first time that night, Misty opened her eyes instantly and sat up on her bed as if an electric current had shocked her. "Can you open the door, please?"

Sleepy was the last thing she felt right then.

**X**

**Word count: 415. **

**I'm back with more AAML-ness! YAY! This prompt was inspired by 64damn_prompts at LJ. If anyone has any suggestions to use as prompts, they are really, really welcome! I'm going to keep this set under 500 words each. Sounds good? :)  
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	2. Chapter 2: Even in the Dark

**X**

**Even in the Dark**

He's surprised to find her here, and then he realizes he shouldn't be. Everyone is here, and the sky is pitch black, and the food is great, the music's nice, and he can't really believe he finally made it.

And he can't really believe that, after all this time, she's here.

He watches her from afar, sitting on a table where the lights are low as she chats with Tracey, and she finally notices him and waves. He waves back and has an impulse to approach her soft grin and expectant eyes, but he's pulled into yet another hug, and yet another conversation, and yet another person who congratulates him much too enthusiastically.

And he looks back and she's staring at her drink, nodding at whatever Tracey's telling her now.

The place starts to empty and he realizes his mother really outdid herself with the decoration of their simple Pallet Town backyard. The lights seem to dim as each person leaves until the place seems like it'd never hold the people it just did. He looks around the ones who remain and can't find the redhead.

And he curses himself because it has been ages and he can't believe he just missed her.

The lights dim further until there's only his mom, talking to the last remaining guests by the entrance porch, and he stands in the backyard that's now submerged in darkness, looks up at the sky, and realizes it wasn't so pitch black after all. A few starts twinkle back at him.

"I finally get you alone! I thought it'd never be my turn to congratulate you."

He turns around so quickly he almost trips, and it can't be _her_ speaking because she's already left, and yet when his eyes adjust to the darkness that surrounds both he just knows that it's her. "I…" but he really doesn't know what in the world to say as she walks over to him.

And she stands before him; she's a woman now. Even in the dark he realizes he still missed her, even if she never left.

"Congratulations," she says too politely, and he murmurs an awkward 'thanks', and when she adds, "I never thought you'd make it, you know," he thanks every Legendary out there for making her sound more like herself.

"Aren't you supposed to say you always knew I'd make it?"

"You're forgetting I knew you from the start, Ash."

And it seems that simple phrase has made him lose his head, because somehow, his lips slam on hers and he promises he won't miss her again.

**X**

**Word count: 430.**

**Prompt suggested by d i n o b o t, who has stuck with me for... pretty much everything AAML I've written. This is for you, my friend, and I hope you like it :)**

**I love you, reviewers! If anyone wants to suggest a prompt, feel free to do it and I might write it ;)  
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	3. Chapter 3: Reciprocity

**X**

**Reciprocity**

If he calls be a baby for screaming when some disgusting bug-type crawls into my sleeping bag, then I can call him an idiot for getting us lost each and every time into some unknown forest… even if it's me holding the map.

If he takes away my towel and clothes while I'm showering –and makes me wrap myself in the bathroom rug and search for them –then I can hide his underwear before he's about to change and enjoy as he searches for hours… although after the first time, I'd rather keep away from those.

If he angrily tells me to leave him alone after he's lost a battle, I can tell him to leave _me_ alone after I realize I have to go back to Cerulean, just as angrily and running away in the process… but I'd want him with me shortly after.

If he tells me that our peculiar first meeting was not a coincidence, and says that we were meant to meet –making everything so much harder –, I tell him we _will_ meet again… and I know it's such a hard promise to keep.

If he lets other people know that he misses me there, but just can't get himself to say it in my face, then I won't say it either… Mew knows how much I want to, though.

And if one day he comes back, after seeing so much people, and so many places, and so many Pokémon –his dreams finally accomplished, then I'll make sure I accomplish all of mine too… and that day I'll tell him.

And he'll tell me too. That's how reciprocity works, after all.

**X**

**Word count: 276.**

**Thanks to everyone! Reviews are always appreciated. And feel free to drop your own suggestions... words, phrases, anything that could work.**

**Prompt taken from 64damn_prompts and LJ (No. 36).  
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	4. Chapter 4: Because You Left

**Disclaimer: It's been more than a year already, and I still don't own Pokémon.**

**X  
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**Because You Left**

"Look at this!" A pile of rumpled papers was slammed against the desk, right below his face. The action, along with her outraged voice, made both Ash, and Pikachu currently perched on his lap, wince.

Obeying her command, he carefully eyed the papers from a little distance, not really wanting to get in close contact with whatever had caused such an outburst in the Gym Leader. He could only see small letters and numbers he couldn't understand.

"What is it?" he asked slowly, afraid of making her even angrier.

"Bills! Warning letters!" She started naming each rumpled paper as she took it from the pile and slammed it once again on the side of it. "PIA notices! More bills! More warning letters!" With each paper both trainer and pokémon slowly backed away from her until the rodent thought better of it and scuttled under the table, leaving Ash alone to face the redhead.

"Bills, bills,_ bills_!" The last paper hit the new pile with a finishing sound. "All stacked in a drawer! No wonder they suddenly cut our phone or our electricity. Because none of those three even care about the Gym's paperwork! Not even when I _ask_ them to take care of it. So _I_ end up doing all of it in a rush before they close this place down!"

With that, she walked over to her chair behind the desk, right across from him, and dropped onto it with a sigh. He looked at her tired expression, not sure of what to say as she took the first paper from the stack and eyed it lazily.

"I have to sort these out," her voice was dramatically lower now, which must have been a cue for Pikachu to emerge once again from under the desk. "Times like this is when I seriously consider running away again."

There was a silent pause in which she pulled open a drawer by her side and took a calculator from it, and long enough for him to hesitate as his eyes readjusted down to where Pikachu sat on his lap.

"Then why don't you?" he suddenly blurted, making her look up from the small gadget in slight puzzlement.

"Why don't I what?"

"We're going back to Sinnoh. I think you'd really like it up there and you could – "

"Ash, please don't." He looked up in surprise at hearing her voice so soft and so pleading at the same time. She was staring down at the calculator, but he was sure its screen was blank.

"Why not? Ever since you left I – "

"I know!" She put the calculator down, fighting a grimace that climbed to her face. "But I can't. I… maybe a few years ago…"

He decided to look down at Pikachu again, feeling both embarrassed and disappointed.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

"It's fine… I should start helping you out with that paperwork, right?"

He looked up to find the slightest of smiles on her lips, directed at him.

"I'd appreciate that."

**X**

**Word count: 500 (Phew, I almost didn't make it!)**

**I apologize for the lack of update! I'm taking exams this week (in fact, I should be studying right now), struggling with an EVA one shot (I'm seriously headdesk-ing my brains out over it. Stupid, mind-raping series...), and _still_ mourning the end of Fullmetal Alchemist. I have no other excuse, and I apologize.**

**Prompt suggested by d i n o b o t! Hope you enjoyed it, and sorry for taking a while :)  
**


	5. Chapter 5: Scarlet Forever

**X**

**Scarlet Forever**

It is back from the dry cleaners and now hangs from the shelf, the bright, yellow fabric cascading against the wall as she eyes it wearily. Her arms fold on her chest when, between the soft pleats and folds, she spots the deep red stain on the side, and the apology from the cleaner flashes through her mind as she realizes this dress is probably ruined forever.

However, she steps closer towards the dress – and the ruined yellow fabric, the money wasted on it, and the reddest of stains that seems to glare at her – and a memory brings her eyebrows thoughtfully together, her head tilting slightly to the side. For a moment, she wonders if the feeble smell of wine remains on the cloth, or if she's imagining things.

And strangely, she finds herself smiling.

X

He rolls his eyes at the prospect of a ruined shirt. And yet, the thing is hopelessly ruined and there's nothing more to it than throwing it out and replacing it. What bothers him is the replacement part, more than anything, because he basically detests shopping. Maybe his mother would do him the favor?

With that thought in mind, he really is two seconds away from dropping the shirt in the garbage when he catches one last glimpse of the awful, red stain right below the collar and stops. A thousand things flash through his mind in that second, like how less burgundy and more plain red the stain looks after his failed attempts at making it disappear, and how it still seems to smell of the drink that was spilled that night.

And her lips had been this exact same color, he realizes. He feels weird remembering it; just as he feels weird remembering how much they really laughed that night and how stupidly they spilled the bottle of wine. His foot steps away from the empty bin's pedal, sending the lid back down with a thud. He's doing it because Pikachu's cheeks are that color, and so is the upper half of a pokéball, and his mother's favorite dress.

Or that's what he tries to believe, at least.

**X**

**Word count: 357.**

**I suck at updating, I know that, and I'm deeply sorry. Too much soccer/football, maybe (anyone following the World Cup?), or the fact that FMA ended _again_, this time in the form of Brotherhood and sending me yet again into mourning mode. Either way, I hope you enjoyed this one :) Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed!**

**Prompt suggested by Judy-Licious. Hope you liked it!  
**


	6. Chapter 6: Right on Time

**Disclaimer: I'll never own Pokémon. I'll just have to live with it.**

**X  
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**Right on Time**

You look so pathetic sitting in that old couch I'm almost glad I can't find my gloves. But another minute ticks away, the train is closer and closer to leaving, and between the rumpled sheets of your bed is yet another place where I can't find those silly things.

"Look, if you see them anywhere just…" but I stop because you look up and your eyes are ridiculously huge, and there's something in them I can't quite comprehend. "… Just ship them to the Gym, okay?"

You nod slightly and I'm glad your eyes are back at the far wall. I decide I must stop looking at you before I lose all my resolve and stay here _again_. As I rub Pikachu's head in a goodbye gesture and make my way to the door, I wonder when in the world did I become such a magnet for complicated situations. I adjust my coat before opening the door and I decide to ignore the fact that I should _deal_ with them, and that I'm finally leaving without a word of goodbye to you.

But then again, I'm sure if I do so much as look back at you one more time I'll never leave. So I decidedly open the door and call the cheeriest "Goodbye!" I can manage. My hands are deep into my pockets thanks to the lack of gloves, and I'm already reaching the street when something stops me yet again. I curse myself silently, and I wonder how fast I'll have to run if I want to catch that train.

"Pika!" The little rodent tugs at the end of my pants, and I spot what I had spent so much time looking for hanging from his little mouth. Right on time, I think.

Before I crouch down to take the gloves from him I spot you on the doorway, and you're looking as pathetic as ever. I almost walk right back toward you, and your huge eyes with that _thing_ in them, and every single complication that we seem to attract lately, but something in the back of my mind tells me I just can't delay my return to Cerulean anymore.

"You keep them," I say, and Pikachu's ears twitch in surprise. _Hold on to them 'til next time_ I'm tempted to add, but the look you give me then tells me I don't need to.

"For now. I'll need them when it gets colder," I add instead.

"Alright." And suddenly you're brighter, and you've lifted something inside me without knowing it. I grin, at last, and give you a small wave before I am finally able to go where I'm supposed to.

My hands are warm in my pockets. Who was I kidding anyway? You could keep those gloves forever, just like the handkerchief and the lure and everything else I always seem to leave behind with you.

I run to catch the train, knowing I'll be back here soon anyway.

**X**

**Word count: 494.**

**Thank you, thank you, thank you to absolutely everyone! I'm really glad someone is enjoying these, and that I'm adding something to all the AAML out there. :)**

**So the World Cup is over. Congrats to Spain! -swoons over goalkeeper- Um.. -cough- And to all the finalists too! I'll miss all the excitement :( 'til 2014!**

**Prompt suggested by d i n o b o t, who also challenged me to use second person. I hope I did okay!  
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